Thank you for all the suggestions- I think a lot of it is texture and the way things blend together.

Well it if the things blend together let him eat more things individually or in a mix and match build your own style. Maybe encourage him to experiment and make his own sandwiches for instance - and let him try anything he wants so long as it is not dangerous or illegal - who care if it is odd. If it is texture - try to find out what bothers him and look for the farthest opposite as a start. Honestly if my mother would have tried to get me to eat a raw carrot rather than cooked - i suspect i would be less fussy now - it would not really have been that much of an accommodation - but it just never dawn on her - she just kept trying to make it taste good to her.

I also had another suggestion you mentioned that he likes processed cheese/soft cheese etc. Have you tried making something similar yourself that would be healthier. I have made home made cheese cheese sauces that were essentially a basic butter and flower rue with some milk/cream and lots of cheese - but i tend to like sauces really really think - to a comical point - so i would tend to about double the cheese - you end up with something similar in consistency to the things he likes - think but spreadable and smooth. I would put it on pasta - but if you let it cool - it tends to be rather thick - if you could find cheese flavors he likes - maybe he would like a home made thick cheese sauce spread on a bagel like cream cheese for instance. you would even put it on tortilla chips and call it nachos - it was too thick to be a real dip.

With a little experimentation i bet you could find a way to make something similar to the processed cheese, but healthier for him.

Just an idea.

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freakyfemme

Have you tried telling him that he is NOT ALLOWED to throw up? That's what my mom eventually did because I also had an uncontrollable gag reflex. Mashed potatoes -- instant gag. Any casserole -- same thing. There were five of us kids, and one day she decided she'd have enough and told me she would.not.tolerate.it.anymore.

I didn't dare throw up again.

Of course I swore I would never treat my kids like that and never ever ever make them eat things they didn't like....but I've begun to see her side just a little.

You mean, you actually forced yourself not to vomit because your mom said so? Anyway, I have some ideas, being a vegetarian myself, I can definitely empathize with a child not wanting to eat meat, even if it's just because it's "yucky," and not for ethical reasons......I think meat is pretty "yucky" too, lol. Anyway, here they are:

-Cut-up pitas and veggie sticks with hummus

-Vegetarian chili in a Thermos (maybe throw some cut-up vegetarian hot dogs in there if he likes them, or give him some grated cheese and a hamburger bun or taco shell so he can make his own sloppy joes or tacos).

-Canned pasta in a Thermos (same as above)

-Kraft Dinner in a Thermos (you can add all kinds of things to this, I always add chick peas and green peppers, and sometimes sliced carrots too).

Also, does your son have access to a microwave at school? If so, there are tons of TV dinners and microwaveable foods that your son could take to school. There's Easy Mac, Campbell's Soup at Hand, little plastic microwaveable containers of various kinds of canned pasta, and tons of other stuff like that.

In our bunch the usual tactic of dealing with picky eaters is to starve them out. By that, I mean not cater to their every whim. They will eat when they get hungry enough.

Well, that's not necessarily true - or at least, they'll eat a few things, and maybe learn to sneak food.

The "gag reflex" may be the culprit here. I had a lot of illnesses as a toddler, and I threw up a lot. Remember, the body has an inner control that associates vomiting with bad food. So, each time I threw up after green beans, or macaroni, or whatever, my body went, "Well, cross THAT stuff off the list of things which are edible!"

It took me a while of eating nothing but peanut butter, toast, fish sticks and canned peas. But with (gentle) encouragement, I learned to expand my eating horizons once I stopped throwing up. Until the OP is sure that no physical problem is causing the gagging, insisting on the child eating food they can't tolerate will create a vicious circle of gagging and food-phobias.

(And "not allowed" to throw up? I doubt that would work any more than "not allowing" me to have a runny nose, or bloody knees after falling on the sidewalk. I would have been VERY happy, thank you, not to have to throw up.)

freakyfemme

In our bunch the usual tactic of dealing with picky eaters is to starve them out. By that, I mean not cater to their every whim. They will eat when they get hungry enough.

Well, that's not necessarily true - or at least, they'll eat a few things, and maybe learn to sneak food.

The "gag reflex" may be the culprit here. I had a lot of illnesses as a toddler, and I threw up a lot. Remember, the body has an inner control that associates vomiting with bad food. So, each time I threw up after green beans, or macaroni, or whatever, my body went, "Well, cross THAT stuff off the list of things which are edible!"

It took me a while of eating nothing but peanut butter, toast, fish sticks and canned peas. But with (gentle) encouragement, I learned to expand my eating horizons once I stopped throwing up. Until the OP is sure that no physical problem is causing the gagging, insisting on the child eating food they can't tolerate will create a vicious circle of gagging and food-phobias.

(And "not allowed" to throw up? I doubt that would work any more than "not allowing" me to have a runny nose, or bloody knees after falling on the sidewalk. I would have been VERY happy, thank you, not to have to throw up.)

Pod.....also, I'd sure like to be able to fall down without risking a skinned knee, or at least, I would have LOVED that as a child......many more fast bike rides, Rollerblade stunts, attempted cartwheels (no, I never succeeded)....but seriously, I don't get "not allowing" a child to throw up, because it's an involuntary bodily function. Also, another poster stated that her mother only "allowed" her to "dislike" certain foods that are "commonly disliked by many people." Well, I can't stand hard-boiled eggs, egg salad, or ANYTHING with mayonnaise in it, but a lot of people like those things, so if I'd been raised in that household, would I have been forced to eat eggs and mayonnaise? Also, I won't touch applesauce either, because the consistency is disgusting to me. Would that have flown? I guess what I'm asking is, should EVERY SINGLE ONE of a child's likes, dislikes, preferences, opinions, and needs be put on trial? I really don't think so, because you wouldn't do that to an adult. Now, if it was a matter of a child who would only eat one food (like in the children's book "Bread and Jam for Frances,") then yes, I'd do something about that, after waiting out that "phase" for a reasonable amount of time (in the book, Frances got sick of bread and jam after a week, lol), but after that, I'd start looking into other options. I wouldn't force the issue, though, I'd probably hide healthy things inside already-liked foods, for example, if my child only ate grilled cheese, I'd grate some pears into the cheese, or if my child only ate spaghetti sauce, I'd puree vegetables into the sauce. Also, a lot of kids like smoothies, so that's another route to go.

My mom had a picky eater (not me). She found that things presented in a fun way worked better. Broccoli was perfectly acceptable when it was refereed to as "tiny trees", and Brussel sprouts went down fine when they were served as "Little Lettuce".

Also, why not serve somethings mixed with other things he likes. For instance, if he eats cream cheese, have you tried homemade cheese spread of some kind. We like 8 ounces of cream cheese, 16 ounces of cheddar cheese, and about half a cup of standard yellow mustard. Shred the cheddar cheese, pop everything in the food processor, and process until fluffy and spreadable. It's wonderful stuff on crackers and sandwiches. And oh so much better than processed cheese. You may want to add more mustard to taste.

Also, what about salami rolled around a center of cream cheese. One of my favorites.

So get a vegetarian nutrition book and learn how to combine grains to make a protein. And send those for lunch.

It's easy, you just combine proteins with whole grains. So, a PBJ on whole-wheat bread is complete protein, as is a whole-wheat pita with hummus, or rice/pasta/couscous with chick peas (or whatever). For a snack, a granola bar with nuts is a good bet (but obviously not in school). There are other combinations too, those are just the ones I thought up right now.

So get a vegetarian nutrition book and learn how to combine grains to make a protein. And send those for lunch.

It's easy, you just combine proteins with whole grains. So, a PBJ on whole-wheat bread is complete protein, as is a whole-wheat pita with hummus, or rice/pasta/couscous with chick peas (or whatever). For a snack, a granola bar with nuts is a good bet (but obviously not in school). There are other combinations too, those are just the ones I thought up right now.

I have no luck with vegetarian cooking...Meats, stews, soups, spaghette sauce, no recipe needed. Anything with out meats - forget. I've tried to go vegetarian for specific periods in the Buddhist Calendar and actually landed myself in the hospital. That's why I was suggesting a recipe book

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Audreyb

What worked for me was telling my son that he needed to eat a lot of good foods to grow big and strong. I swear I've never seen a kid convince himself that he loved broccoli before but thats what he did ( I don't even like broccoli). We also discuss the benefits of the different foods that are on the dinner table and it seemed to help interest him in trying them out. So by saying something like "it might look weird but it's super good and will help you grow big and strong try some" Maybe that would help. Do you have a wall that you mark his height on? I would measure him up on the wall before attempting the above dialog in the evening and see if that helps motivate him to try foods that will make him grow. Good luck

Summrs

My kids weren't particularly picky eaters, but one meal they loved was velveeta fondue. Yes, *that* velveeta, lol. Just melt some with milk to make a good dip consistency and serve it to them with apple slices, lightly steamed broccoli and crusty bread to dip in it. Give them a skewer to make it more fun. Substitute the broccoli for any veggie he will eat... green beans, whatever.

For school sandwiches, hummus is a good idea if he'll eat it. Hummus on bread with cucumbers and lettuce or spinach leaves.

In our bunch the usual tactic of dealing with picky eaters is to starve them out. By that, I mean not cater to their every whim. They will eat when they get hungry enough.

That's what I would do. Unless a medical or religious restriction is involved, I do not cater to picky eaters. I don't go out of my way to serve only or primarily foods they don't like, but I won't put up with "I won't eat that/gross/disgusting/yuck etc.", especially if it's from a kid who is in my charge.

I'll tell them, "Well, when you get hungry, there's breakfast/lunch/supper" and point to whatever has been served.

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I'm away from sanity right now...please leave a message after the beep.

There are no medical issues involved-his gag reflex is self-evoked-and he will vomit.

He eats lots of fruits, whole grains, and vegetables. He is neither overweight nor underweight.

What I need is protein suggestions. Either things I have not thought of or ways to mask protein.

I am not interested in getting into parenting issues at this time.

ok - you ended up with a lot of parenting advice but little nutritional advice.

I will repeat my first reply to you: can you forgo the protein for that meal? if he is getting enuf protein for breakfast and dinner, then he may not need that much protein, and you can use the lunch meal to focus on the whole grains, vegetables and fruits. so just a whole grain roll or two, some cut up veggies, fruit, and a cookie.

I don't know if he eats beans and lentils - you didn't mention that. but if he does, then all you need to do is match up the legume with a whole grain and you have your whole protein, such as:

hummous spread and pitawhole grain rice with beansblack bean with whole grain tortillamujadara (a middle eastern dish with rice and green or black lentils - i make it with whole grain rice).stir fry vegetables with either nuts (are kids allowed to bring any nuts to school? are cashews ok?) or tofu if he will eat it plus rice or noodles.cold whole wheat noodles with vegetables and tahini sauce (originally this is with peanut butter sauce but you can make it with tahini mixed with soy sauce as well).anything with mushrooms which are considered a protein.anything with quinoa which is also considered a protein.